1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for compressing and decompressing image data
2. Background of the Invention
Modern graphics engines typically render or compose images into a frame buffer, which is usually the system memory or DDR. In many such systems, the graphic hardware and system memory are not on the same die. Graphic hardware is also often pushed to its limit to process higher resolution, complex graphics, as well as dealing with multiple sources and targets for graphics data.
As a result, increasing amounts of data need to be moved around the graphics and other sub-systems very quickly. Moving large amounts of data at very high speed presents challenges with respect to power, thermal, and performance requirements. It is therefore crucial to reduce bandwidth required for data moving in and out of the system memory. Many systems are operable to compress data, store it, and then un-compress the data when it is needed.
The systems and methods described herein provide an improved approach for incorporating compression and decompression of image data into a graphics processing system.